Galloway Station's manager declined to answer questions about the lawsuit, saying he was not working at the restaurant at the time of the alleged offenses. The owner did not respond to a request for comment.

How did BMI know eight specific songs were played at Galloway Station? A BMI employee visited Galloway Station on Nov. 5, 2016 and logged the songs that he or she heard, Thomas said. They included the following:

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Thomas said sometimes BMI employees are local residents. Other times, BMI has someone come in from another area. She said oftentimes the company finds out venues are performing copyrighted music because they advertise on social media, or charge entrance fees for having music on site.

BMI representatives tried for more than a year to contact the owner of the restaurant, Thomas said. Twenty-seven calls and 16 letters later, BMI filed suit.

"We only take legal action as a last resort and spend a lot of time, sometimes years, trying to educate businesses on why they need a music license and the value it brings," Thomas said.

Any establishment that plays copyrighted music in a public space — whether that be through a live band, recordings, DJ, karaoke or a jukebox — is required by federal law to obtain a music license, Thomas said.

"Some business owners are unaware that it is federal copyright law to have a music license in place if copyrighted music is performed in a public setting," Thomas said.

The minimum price of a music license for a restaurant starts at $370 per year, according to BMI's website. The cost varies depending on the size of the establishment and how often music is performed. Additional fees are tacked on for live music, recorded music karaoke, cover charge, dancing and other items. The maximum annual cost is $11,060.

Thomas said Galloway Station features live music, recorded music and DJs a handful of nights each week and charges entrance fees.

The suit alleges Galloway Station caused the plaintiffs "great and incalculable damage" by playing songs for their customers without a license.

Thomas said about 88 percent of BMI's revenue goes back to songwriters, composers and publishers in the form of music royalties.

Many of the musicians associated with BMI can be considered small business owners, Thomas said, who make a living off the royalty payments they receive from the licensing company.

"All songwriters are entitled to be fairly compensated for their work, regardless if they're well known established icons, unknown songwriters or somewhere in between," Thomas said.

The defendants named in the suit are Ermioni Greinke and Klaus Greinke, the owners of Galloway Station.

Klaus Greinke passed away in May of last year following a heart attack, according to an obituary. He and his wife opened Galloway Station more than 14 years ago, the obituary said.

The infringement suit filed against Galloway Station by BMI is the third in Missouri in the past two years.

Springfield's former Cartoons Oyster Bar & Grill was sued by BMI in January 2017 for allegedly performing six songs without permission. They included "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash, "Ignition" by R. Kelly and "Play Something Country" by Terry McBride and Ronnie Dunn.

The suit was voluntarily dismissed by BMI the following month, apparently after a process server could not locate the previous owner of Cartoons, Adam Kaltenbach.

Thomas told the News-Leader she could not comment directly on litigation. She said cases can be dismissed for a variety of reasons, including out-of-court settlements.